When I was in college, several times I remember working around the clock for 5 days and quite often did 3 days. I worked to the deadline.

Today as a start-up, my dead lines are more self imposed, and I've found that after not sleeping for just two days, the quality of my efficiency begins to decrease not to mention getting migraine headaches. I've learned to take 2 or 3 short naps instead of doing the long stretches with a big crash at the end.

With just an hour and a half I can get about a 6 - 8 hr burst of productivity and that's enough to keep me productive around the clock without crashing if I need to get a project out.

2:16 pm April 6, 2011

John wrote :

It's called time management. If you plan your day correctlly, plan the progress on your projects correctly, and know how to manage your life, you can sleep for 8 hours and still be a success. For some reason, a lot of Americans think that sleep deprivation is a badge of honor and aids productivity.
I have owned my own business since 1975. I've always started my day at 8 am and ceased business by 5 or 6.
What's the point of making a little more money if you feel lousy all day? Sleep, exercise, proper nutrition is important and needs to be your priority. Establish the timelines and success will follow. It's all about management and balance.

2:35 pm April 6, 2011

wcmillionairre wrote :

I am more interested in the sleep habits of 50-year old retired millionaires.
OK, nap-time...

3:15 pm April 6, 2011

CT wrote :

I think it's counter-productive to get less sleep. Sometimes you need to do it, i.e. if there is a crisis- but do it on a regular basis and your work suffers. You can do rote work fine, but being tired really zaps creativity. I've found if you sleep well and exercise, it allows you to be very sharp and creative, you can solve more problems in a few hours than you can in 3x the time when tired.

The whole idea that sleep deprivation is a badge of honor is stupid. It's one of the main reasons people are so overweight these days, cancer rates are so high...

3:18 pm April 6, 2011

Portland, OR wrote :

If we just work 9 - 5 we're sunk. I mean, how many hours a day do the Japanese work?

Americans don't get it. Your work is the meaning of your life, if you disagree, then maybe you ought to find more meaningful work. Work life balance is the excuse for being mediocre. I tell my employees, you have plenty of time to rest when your dead.

3:18 pm April 6, 2011

Portland wrote :

If we just work 9 - 5 we're sunk. I mean, how many hours a day do the Japanese work?

Americans don't get it. Your work is the meaning of your life, if you disagree, then maybe you ought to find more meaningful work. Work life balance is the excuse for being mediocre. I tell my employees, you have plenty of time to rest when your dead.

4:45 pm April 6, 2011

Michelle wrote :

Wow, Portland, I think I would hate to work for you.

Perhaps it's a generational thing (I'm 29), but I don't see work as the meaning of my life. I absolutely love my job, but when 5 o'clock rolls around, I'm gone. I've put in a lot of time and money getting my college degrees so that I could get a job I enjoy so much, but still, I would never go so far as to say that it is my reason for living.

That said, (and back on topic) my father has been an entrepreneur for about the last 25 years and I've always known him to be a short sleeper. (Although admittedly, he always did take frequent naps.) I think for him, as with some other business owners probably, their body clocks are already functioning a certain way and they chose the path that most adapts to that, not the other way around.

For me, I like the 9-5 lifestyle if it means at 5pm (at least on most days) I can run out the door and not worry about anything on my desk until the next morning. I've tried my hand at being a business owner (in the sense of freelance graphic designing) and I was simply not cut out for it. I need to time to switch off, and I'd guess that probably most business owners never switch off.

8:17 pm April 6, 2011

Winning Sales Habits wrote :

I think a key to the article is that very few people are "short sleepers." The rest are fighting a losing battle. Fixing this problem with caffeine, sugar or just "gritting it out" only causes performance to go down over time. That's a scientific fact. One hour of focused, engaged and energized work is worth a lot more than just putting in hours that you wear as a badge of honor.

9:47 pm April 6, 2011

PDX wrote :

Can you schedule a productive hour?
Myself, I can only schedule the opportunity to be productive.
The more time at work, the more brief moments of productivity/inspiration we aggregate. Ferriss spins a good yarn for those who long for an endless vacation from work, but like Covey describes, eventually this habit kills the golden goose. Minimal sleep and maximum effort may be burning the candle at both ends, but if you truly enjoy your work, the hours pass unnoticed.

4:53 pm April 7, 2011

Eddie wrote :

Remember a WSJ article, from HARVARD Univ. , where they scientifically prove, that the persons who do NOT get around 8 hours of sleep daily, those persons later in life suffer from : High blood pressure, diabetis, ulcers, nervous breakdowns, DIVORCES (many times !!!!), and many many more ills associated with HIGH STRESS and NOT getting enough REST and RECREATION !!!!!.
And for the p0erson that mentionede that WORK is the only thing in life, PLEASE get a life, I have seen too many Multi-Millionaires cried on my shoulder, because they did NOT learn , that one has to LIVE A BALANCED LIFE comprised of GOOD : WORK, FAMILIY , FRIENDS AND MY GOD AS A PERMANENT PARTNER !!!!!!,and then , you will see how Successful you are in your life and your family and Society in General !!!!

9:41 pm April 7, 2011

Trader wrote :

Ummm ..... and many entrepreneurs, including me, get the full 7 to 8.

8:55 am April 8, 2011

Eddie wrote :

I forgot to mentioned that This comment is from a Successful Entrepreneur and an MBA , that also wrote about 25 years of Worlwide Businesses in a Book-Draft on HOW TO MANAGE YOURSELF, TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE OTHERS; to IMPROVE : SAFETY, PRODUCTIVITY , SATISFACTION, AND EARNINGS($$$) .

Remember a WSJ article, from HARVARD Univ. , where they scientifically proved, that the persons who do NOT get around 8 hours of sleep daily, those persons sooner or later in life suffer from :
Heart attacks, Strokes, High blood pressure, diabetis, ulcers, nervous breakdowns, DIVORCES (many times !!!!),
great Un-Happinesses, Bankrupcies, and many many more ills associated with HIGH STRESS and NOT getting enough REST and RECREATION !!!!!.

And for the person that mentioned that WORK is the only thing in life, PLEASE get a life, I have seen too many colleagues Multi-Millionaires cried on my shoulder, because they did NOT learned , that one has to LIVE A BALANCED LIFE comprised of GOOD : WORK, FAMILIY , FRIENDS AND MY GOD AS A PERMANENT PARTNER !!!!!! ; and then , you will see how Successful you will become in your Business and Private life, and your family, and Employees and Society will appreciated it very much !!!!

10:26 am April 8, 2011

Matt wrote :

Mostly out of necessity, this coming from an entrepreneur running a start up IT company. Business owners normally wear multiple hats, especially when the business is small and continuing to grow. I spend many nights working on responding to RFP's for new contracts, putting on fires on currne contracts or performing project management duties. Most of the day is spent with current clients and meetings to find new business. There are many nights when I may only be able to sleep two hours. I would love to be asleep but I am trying to grow my business and simply cannot afford that luxery right now. Ask guys like Bill Gates how much sleptthey got when they were starting their companies. Short sleepers may n ot be born but they are the ones who make the world go round.

1:04 pm April 8, 2011

Charleen Larson wrote :

John has it right about sleep, exercise and proper nutrition. This is boring stuff and doesn't sell books like Tim Ferriss but it has the virtue of being the truth. I understand that people want to believe they can thrive working 4 hours a week and sleeping 2 hours a night but for the vast majority of folks that's just a fantasy.

1:05 pm April 8, 2011

EDDIE wrote :

For the Short Sleepers there are many solutions to be able to get more sleep :
We must learn from previous practical successful experiences,

To get all your work done : Get help from your wife, relatives, friends, co-workers (offer them incentives , like future stock options/and or royalties), right now there are MANY un-employed personnel, that might help you for free ( with a future stock option/ or compensation in the IT Business); that way, you won’t burn-out , so that I won’t have to visit you @ the ICU (Intensive care Units), where you might spend all the Millions you worked so hard for !!!!!!

Also the SHORT SLEEPERS ARE NOT THE ONES WHO MAKE THE WORLD GO AROUND, in fact it is the opposite, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet worked hard, BUT also had a Family life; so PLEASE recognize this fact,
that a good EMOTIONAL and SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE is also needed, so that the future will be very bright !!!!!!

8:55 pm April 8, 2011

Mike wrote :

I think many don't sleep because they can't. I myself am in the process of trying to get a small business off the ground and I literally couldn't sleep if I wanted to. My mind is constantly racing. Many nights, i'm up late throwing ideas around and then I'm back at early in the morning. The crazy thing is how our mind still process these ideas even DURING sleep. At times I'll wake up and jump on my laptop and start jotting down ideas that came to me while i was sleeping. There are some days when I'm functioning like a zombie because I slept for only 3 or 4 hours the night before but for the most part I'm good. I think when you believe in what you're trying to accomplish, there's almost this never ending energy that takes over and just consumes you and keeps you up until all odd hours of the night, every hour spent working is an hour spent getting you and your business closer to where you want it to be. At least that's how i see it.

6:21 pm April 10, 2011

Stephanie wrote :

Geez Portland, That kind of an attitude will only get you mediocre workers - workers than can only function on what they're told. The millenial generation isn't in for working their tail off for someone else. They see it as an exchange. An exchange of a paycheck for work, savvy workers know this exchange can happen in a lot of different places. This is why so many people are turning to entrepreneurship. They want more choices, they want ownership of their own lives. I don't believe anyone should be able to tell me when I can take a vacation and for how long. If I'm sick, I don't want to have to prove it to someone and feel guilty all day for the work that's not getting done. The landscape of internal personnel has changed.

Better get with the times or the level of employees you get will decline rapidly.

3 hours less than your average sleep before you were sleep-deprived will drive you into the ground, quick. The payoff is just not there. You spend more time awake, but the processing faculties of the brain are compromised to the point where you end up with less productivity had you had those extra hours of sleep. From my limited research, I've learned Entrepreneurial types averaged (or chose to sleep prior to starting their venture) 6-7 hours of sleep, which would put them around 4 hour territory after the startup phase. I get 4 1/2 hours daily on a biphasic sleep schedule. If your partner doesn't mind you leaving the bed during the middle of the night (After your 3 hour core sleep), it'll work out fine. The 1 1/2 nap is recommended in early evening, although I take mine in the afternoon. I feel great on the plan and believe the 7 1/2+ sleep pattern is a remnant of our evolutionary past and should be discarded as a "must have" as most news programs will advise you. The people they quote as dying younger slept less because of other co-morbid conditions, such as obesity and chronic anxiety, not because of choosing to sleep less as most entrepreneurs do. Tell people you sleep 3-4 1/2 hours at your own risk. Many people will never miss an opportunity to use it against you; if even jokingly.

8:18 pm April 11, 2011

EDDIE wrote :

One of the reader wrote :
" the 7 1/2+ sleep pattern is a remnant of our evolutionary past and should be discarded as a “must have” as most news programs will advise you." = THIS IS NOT TRUE !!!!!!!

Please Half of my Family is in the MEDICAL profession , and you should see what happens to some people already in a Mental Institution, for following the advice you are giving here ,
PLEASE BE CAREFUL, if you want to , DO IT YOURSELF ONLY, BUT PLEASE DO NOT TELL PEOPLE TO FOLLOW YOUR ERRONEOUS ADVICE !!!!!!! Thank you .

1:16 pm April 13, 2011

Free Thinker wrote :

I have a couple of friends who have very little sleep requirement, at least apparently. All of them are driven to succeed in their jobs/careers. But almost all of them also tend to find time slots during the day when they can doze off for a 10-15 minute nap, which tells me either the power naps are good enough or that they are really tired due to little sleep at night, and hence simply doze off when it is too much to handle.

Entrepreneurs want to sleep but they can't sleep, at least it's the case for me. I'm founding a startup now and my mind has constantly been thinking about the business. Normally i can sleep at 11 or 12 but since the project started, I usually stay up until 2pm reading, thinking and doing stuff, I just can't sleep. Maybe it's anxiety because there's lot of things that need to get done.

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About In Charge

America’s entrepeneurs are executives who build companies from the ground up. In Charge provides news, analysis and in-the-trenches commentary about small-business management. Produced by Sarah E. Needleman, Emily Maltby and Angus Loten, with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Have a comment or tip? Write to incharge@wsj.com.